Eighty this year, Klaus
Huber is one of the foremost composers
of his generation with a substantial
output to his credit (see his website
www.klaushuber.com
). He is also a renowned pedagogue (he
was the teacher of Brian Ferneyhough
who became his assistant in Freiburg
and of many important younger composers).
The works recorded here span nearly
three decades of his busy composing
career, since Tenebrae
and James Joyce Chamber Music
were completed in 1967 whereas Intarsi
dates from 1994.

The composer describes
Tenebrae as "passion
music without words" and as "a
resolutely profane interpretation of
the Cross"; but the piece – as
a whole – may also be experienced as
a symphony in four movements played
without a break. The work, however,
also carries a deeply human message
about loss, solitude, betrayal, death
and possible healing; although it also
reflects on the "aesthetic of suffering",
to quote the title of Max Nyffeler’s
insert notes. The title of the piece,
of course, refers to Good Friday (the
slow ‘movement’ is actually subtitled
Golgotha); but there is much
more about the music than this. The
opening section is about solitude of
the individual in confrontation to the
brutal world around him. The emotional
content of Golgotha is clear
enough : this is a sorrowful elegy of
great expressive strength. This is followed
by a short ghostly Scherzo leading into
the final section that ends with the
ghost of a hymn imbedded in eerie harmonies
rotating aimlessly before a last violent
outburst that seems to lead to an assertive
close. This, however, does not bring
any cathartic consolation, and the final,
subdued coda dies away with softly tolling
bells.

The Chamber Concerto
Intarsi for piano and
chamber orchestra uses some fragments
from Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.27 KV595
that briefly surface here and there
as inlays ("intarsi") into
Huber’s own personal sound world. The
second movement Pianto – Specchio
di memorie ("Lament – Mirror
of memories") functions a slow
movement, a spectral Nocturne of some
sort. The flow of the music is constantly
interrupted by short cadenzas. The third
movement Unità is a short,
somewhat ramshackle Scherzo in which
the tune from Mozart’s rondo Komm
lieber Mai rubs shoulders with the
Chilean revolutionary song El pueblo
unido jamás será vencido.
One briefly thinks of Ives or Carter
here. The final movement Giardino
arabo ("Arabian garden")
carries the music in an unexpected,
new direction for which the composer
provides no clue. Intarsi
is on the whole a rather enigmatic piece,
rather understated, and thus in total
contrast to the almost graphic description
of human sorrow and suffering found
in Tenebrae.

Written at the request
of Hans Zender who wanted a very short
piece for large orchestra, Protuberanzen
(subtitled Three Short Pieces for Orchestra)
actually exists in two versions, i.e.
a ‘successive’ version in which the
three movements are played in succession,
and a ‘simultaneous’ version (heard
here) in which the first two pieces
are played simultaneously with the third
one creeping in almost unnoticed and,
when left alone on its own, providing
for the work’s coda. The whole piece,
a real tour de force in its own
right, works remarkably well; and one
is again reminded of Ives and Carter.

Huber considers James
Joyce Chamber Music as one of
his most highly introverted, individual
works while being very reluctant to
provide any clues for such a statement.
The piece, which might be regarded as
a musical meditation on Joyce’s cycle,
is cast as a double concerto for harp,
horn and chamber orchestra. It was written
at about the same time as Tenebrae,
but is – inevitably, I should say –
a completely different piece of music.
I suppose that one’s appreciation of
the piece might be enhanced by a thorough
knowledge of Joyce’s cycle; but the
sheer musical invention, the instrumental
playfulness, the comparatively light
touch, the energy and the imagination
of the music have a direct appeal that
I find hard to resist.

Huber’s utterly serious
music is in no way easy; but it displays
a formidable expressive strength that
holds you by the scruff of the neck
and does not let you go all too easily.
In this respect, these orchestral pieces
could be compared with those by Varèse,
Xenakis or Guerrero, that at a first
hearing might seem rather intractable
but that – willy-nilly - drag you along
by their sheer power and energy. Hard
stuff, no doubt, that needs (and repays)
repeated hearings, but that is ultimately
immensely rewarding.

Arturo Tamayo conducts
vital readings of these often impressive
scores out of which Tenebrae
and James Joyce Chamber Music
are undoubted masterpieces. Superb recorded
sound, and another splendid release
from Timpani. Recommended. My recording
of the month.

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